#AuthorInterview with Reet Singh

I have known Reet Singh not just as an author of scorching hot romance novels but am lucky to call her a friend. I thoroughly enjoyed both her books and today, as part of The Book Club’s blog tour of Scorched by His Fire, I have the opportunity to find out more about her characters and writing.

Dear Adite, thank you so much for hosting me. I’ve always enjoyed visiting your blog, but coming over as an invitee is awesome!

Your hero Tanay is a Private Detective. Who did you have in mind when you sketched out your character?
It was tough since I didn’t know any private detectives – not even public ones, for that matter. So, I had to hark back in time – to when I used to rub shoulders with army officers. I went way back to when I was a mere lass flitting from cantonment to cantonment. As you’ve guessed by now, I modeled Tanay on the myriad men in olive green that I’ve known – I figured that both professions depend on self-confidence, courage, and sheer doggedness; thus, I couldn’t go wrong with using the characteristics of one to sketch out the other.

How much of your own self do you see in Mita’s character? And what about her is simply not you?
Oh! This is also a toughie! Let me think…with Mita, some things could have been me – for example, I am known to be *cough* headstrong, and independent; I love reading and adored my grandparents too. But that is about it – there’s no fun writing fiction if you cannot experiment with your characters. There is a lot going on with Mita that is completely not me – for instance, I would never drop everything and go off after a whim. Also, I would not invite a relative stranger to be my fiance! But then, as Mita and Tanay demonstrate, what’s the fun in going down the straight and narrow?

In your book, Sammy is Mita’s best friend but his wife doesn’t quite trust Mita. I thought there was an interesting dynamic there. Did you ever think of exploring that angle while you were writing the book?
I did a bit of delving into Sammy’s story in the first half of the book – as much as I could fit in before whisking Mita and Tanay off to India. I suppose I could have done some more exploring had I brought the love lorn main protagonists back home to Mauritius; unfortunately Mita and Tanay wouldn’t budge from the hotel room in Kolkata so that was that.

Romance novels today are as much about hot scenes as about the sweet, mushy stuff. Did you feel pressured to amp up the heat level?
Personally, I am not a big fan of reading explicit love scenes. I love stories that depict intense chemistry, and burning passion, but stop short of explicit. I didn’t feel any pressure – thankfully none from my editor, so I went as hot as I cared to go – readers have enjoyed the scorching scenes in Scorched, so I’m guessing Mita and Tanay did fine!

Your new book, The Cure was Love, has released this month. Did you find it easier to write Book 2 compared to Book 1?
Funnily enough, yes! Book 1 was written without tying myself down to a script – in a sense I wrote by the seat of my pants, allowing creativity to show the way. It was a fun way to write – I stayed engaged with the story and the characters. By the time I got around to Book 2, I had read a lot about plotting, so I used a combination of plotting and pantsing, and added a generous dash of all the tricks I picked up from writers I enjoy reading – including you, if I may say so! So, yes, Book 2 was easier, but both methods worked for me – I had lots of fun with both processes. One keeps learning as one writes, so it is a great idea to keep writing – good tip for starting writers; in fact, all writers!